Letter to Ed: We’ll continue to fight harassment and build our union.

September 25, 2024

Ed Bastian, CEO
Delta Air Lines
1030 Delta Boulevard 
Atlanta, GA 30354-1989

Dear Mr. Bastian,

This summer, thousands of Delta Flight Attendants stood up for our coworkers in the face of management’s decision to ignore worker concerns on passenger harassment, doxxing, and actions that put our safety at risk. Management’s continued silence on passenger harassment and silencing of Flight Attendants has emboldened further discrimination and affected our company’s public standing.

In July 2024, two Delta Flight Attendants were targeted online for wearing flag pins, which have long symbolized our aviation history, representation of a worldwide airline and connection between cultures. When Delta’s official X account affirmed inflammatory harassment from a passenger, the Delta AFA Steering Committee wrote an open letter to Delta management to take decisive and public action in support of our coworkers and Delta’s longstanding inclusive history of celebrating the connection of heritage and culture around the world. After retracting the initial Delta X account comments online, management then ceded to those targeting Delta Flight Attendants by unilaterally banning all flag pins except for the U.S. flag on our uniforms. Delta Flight Attendants communicated unambiguously through internal channels that this change would set a dangerous precedent for increased discrimination. We were met with silence and censorship.

Our union fundamentally works to ensure a safe workplace for all of our coworkers. In response to management’s silence, the Delta AFA Steering Committee initiated a petition demanding that Delta management instate better workplace protections for crew members, reverse the pin policy change that emboldened harassers, and issue a public apology to the targeted Flight Attendants. Thousands of Delta Flight Attendants—and over 5,500 passengers—signed in support. Our video outlining our demands generated interest around the world and received millions of views and likes across all social media platforms.

Delta management’s continued silence publicly and silencing of worker concerns internally has only inflamed harassment and negatively affected our reputation as a global airline that welcomes all passengers. As we predicted, harassment has only continued. In August 2024, a Delta Flight Attendant was targeted by a homophobic online campaign for wearing a Pride pin. Despite unilaterally implementing the change in pin policy in days, as of the writing of this letter, we have yet to hear from Delta management publicly condemning passenger harassment or a policy to prohibit non-consensual photography of crew members will be implemented. With no real policy changes to protect us from future harassment, we remain left to fend for ourselves. 

Delta management expected us to remain silent. But we did the unexpected: we spoke with a strong unified voice in the face of management’s negligence. Delta Flight Attendants spoke up and showed corporate management everywhere that workers will never accept disrespect and that dismissing workers’ concerns has serious public consequences. Earlier this month, United management stood up for Flight Attendants facing similar online harassment by reaffirming United Flight Attendants’ ability to wear flag pins that represent their pride. By refusing to give into online harassment, the United story was short lived. Delta management’s decision to change policy, resulted in weeks-long negative press. Let us be clear: United’s outcome was the direct result of our Flight Attendant union and campaign. This experience has only underscored the fact that as workers, we know our workplace best, and we need a legally affirmed seat at the negotiating table to build a better future for Delta Flight Attendants and our company. 

As we close our petition campaign, we commend all Delta Flight Attendants for answering our call for solidarity. As we stated in our July letter, aviation works by connecting people with dignity and respect. We remain united against discrimination and will continue to call on Delta management to protect Flight Attendants from harassment. Most importantly, we will continue to build our union so we can work with Delta to have transparent communication, accountability, and recognition as the world class airline we all want Delta to be. 

Sincerely, 

The Delta AFA Steering Committee 

Rasaq Adeyemi, ATL 
Michael Bearman, DTW 
Shameka Brown, ATL 
Kara Dupuis, ATL 
Becky Ley, NYC
Brittany Norris, NYC 
Will Vaughan, SEA 
Warren Walker, SEA 
Walid Zeid, DTW

CC: 

Joanne Smith, EVP and Chief People Officer
Allison Ausband, EVP and Chief Customer Experience Officer
Kristen Manion Taylor, SVP Inflight Service

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